Lutfu Gungorer @ artavita

Lutfu Gungorer

Location: Turkey

Turkish artist Lütfü Güngörer has been creating sculptures using colored telephone cables for 50 years. The first Turkish artist included in the world's most prestigious online art catalogue, Güngörer makes his art with his bare hands, using self-developed techniques and no molds.

Lütfü Güngörer, who first noticed color telephone cables while working as a driver for Turkish Postal Service, or PTT, in the 1960s in Ankara, has been practicing the art of “Sculpicture,” which is his own invention, for 50 years.

Güngörer’s first creation was a sculpture of Turkish Sufi figure Nasreddin Hoca. Now he has a collection of sculptures including the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as well as political figures, artists and other pieces featuring social issues. In his works, the artist gives importance to perspective and adds details like handkerchiefs, belt buckles and jacket buttons.

Güngörer lives with his artworks in his house. He was born in 1938 in the eastern city of Türkiye, Van and is a primary school graduate. He received an art history certificate in 1965 and summarizes his life as a “struggle to survive.” Güngörer, who has three children, lost his daughter at the age of 26 and tried to overcome his pain by working with cables. Making sculptures using phone cables had become a passion for him.

The artist was invited to the “International Sculpture” events in the U.S. twice, but he could not attend.

Portfolio:

The Art of Sculp-ic-ture

Güngörer's first works were seven-centimeter sculptures. Since then he has created bigger ones, up to 30 centimeters tall. He needed wooden moulds for his first artworks but later on he did not use any materials other than cables. He does not use paint or glue. His art is first and unique in the world regarding the material and technique. He calls his art as the art of “Sculpicture” because he was always in search of combining the arts of sculpture and picture, right from the start.

He also states that “I don’t need a model while working with cables. I don’t forget the faces of people after I see them once. When I start making a sculpture, I make the plan in my mind, I don’t work on paper. I pay attention to scaling; my works do not have overly big heads or long arms. If necessary, I make use of tools like pliers.”

Güngörer, who strengthens the perfect ratio in his compositions with details like neckties, and jacket buttons, has many famous people in his collections. His works are collected under different themes, like Istanbul Conquerors, Phaeton Pleasure, Wild Nature, Migration and Liberation. The artist uses folk dance motifs of the Black Sea, Aegean, Central Anatolia and the Caucasus in his works and also deals with social issues. Güngörer did not receive an education in any field and that he created the unity of history, decor and costumes on his mind.

“Poet Veysel”